The Life Geographic: A somewhat self-absorbed personal and professional development blog of an ex-Geography high-school teacher…
Gemma Bailey, the Climate Ambassadors Regional Hub Manager for Southeast England, is dedicated to promoting sustainability and community engagement. With a background in zoology and a Master's degree in Sustainable Development, she empowers schools and communities to take climate action. Listen to the Coffee & Geography podcast to learn more about her work.
In a recent episode of the Coffee & Geography Podcast, I sat down with Cormac Lawler, the dynamic new Regional Hub Manager for the Climate Ambassadors scheme in the Northwest of England. A self-proclaimed "sociable introvert" with a passion for community and the environment, Cormac is the perfect person to lead this important initiative. Originally … Continue reading Calling All Climate Champions: Meet Cormac, Northwest Climate Ambassador Regional Manager
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is coordinating the East of England hub for the Climate Ambassador Scheme, a national initiative to provide expert support to nurseries, schools, and colleges in their sustainability efforts. The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at UEA will lead the recruitment and training of volunteer Climate Ambassadors to empower educators and students in the region to take meaningful climate action. The East of England, particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts, will benefit from this scheme as it equips the next generation with the skills and knowledge to navigate a changing planet.
Today, a book titled 'Developing Quality PSHE in Secondary Schools and Colleges' was released. Within this book, I contributed a chapter on 'Diversity and Discrimination' through my work with Diverse Educators. The book also covers topics such as engaging parents/carers, sex education, and media literacy. My co-writers and I went through many drafts and rewrites of our chapter, and my part in particular about global citizenship and so-called 'British Values' had to be cut down quite substantially to fit in. So, to both celebrate the release of the book and to share my thoughts and findings that didn't make it to publication, here is my full draft before all the editing and cutting took place.
It was good to absorb myself in more natural surroundings and get more-or-less offline for a week. It was worth the numerous mosquito bites! Lots of lovely family memories made; here are but a few through a geographer's lens.
I am delighted to have been invited by Norwich Theatre to contribute to their Creative Matters: Climate Stories programme. My story, titled 'How to talk to children about the climate crisis' will be take place on Wednesday 20th September at 19:00, and will be a session combining performance poetry, prose and an informative talk.
This article was co-authored with Catherine Walker and Nerida Jolley. You can read the introduction here, and then continue with the rest of the article, for free, via the University of Manchester's website here. One of Maisy Summer’s beautiful images for the YPAC creative book How can climate change education address rather than exacerbate eco-anxiety, … Continue reading Creative, sensitive and grounded in diverse perspectives: Why we need inclusive climate change education
National Geographic Kids Everything: Sustainable Energy is available now! Some ideas and concepts didn't make it into the final draft of the book, or they were edited in a way to make them more accessible to a younger audience (while the original is still very much useful for the older kids!). So to celebrate the official release date of the book, I offer up some 'bonus extras' for you!
An article written for the World Energy and Meteorology Council (WEMC). It is becoming increasingly common place that education departments of governments around the world are including climate change in statutory policy. One such example is the recently released Sustainability and climate change: a strategy for the education and children’s services systems by the UK … Continue reading Examples of climate and energy data visualisations and how they can be used in the classroom
Started as a pandemic ‘comfort project’ but growing into something so much more, Coffee and Geography was a podcast where I simply chatted to people. These chats led to exploring connections and intersections through a geographical lens, but also helped to broaden my horizons, check my own privilege, and bring back some faith in humanity. Bring a brew and come and find out what I’ve learnt, which can be useful anecdotes and aids in the classroom, from these ‘everyday’ conversations.